Walk Along With Me

Life Republic - Kolte Patil, Marunji Hinjewadi

2012-02-07T09:01:00.000+05:30

This Sunday I visited the Life Republic - Kolte Patil, Marunji Hinjewadi and find it facinating ...

The kind of facilities they have thought of are the best one has thought of ...

you must visit the actual site to see the progress ...

the bungalow construction is in progress as on now.

Till now the schemes open are almost 95% sold out ! and further avenues will be open with higher rate per square foot. Last week the rate hiked by 100 Rs psf, so now minimum rate is 3500 Rs psf till 5th floor, after that rate hike of 25 rs psf per floor is applicable, so if you want to buy 22nd floor you need to pay Rs 425 psf more ! (but it may be worth in my opinion)

but believe me, if things go as they have shown, this will be best place to live in India (as you know Pimpri Chinchwad has already won "Best city in India" award for 2011-2012)

you must see the video they have published on their website

http://liferepublic.in/walk-through.html

Cheers ... I am impressed hence I will post more photos since I am planning to visit the site again for my friend.

Barbecue time

2012-02-01T10:55:00.000+05:30

Its end of winter now ... and that calls for barbecue time ...

it will take some time to experiment and master the art of barbecue ! but sure in years to come !! i will do it (any expert wants to guide me in this welcome)

Yesterdays experiment was done with Potatos, Cauliflower, and Chicken ...

Potato's are done successfully since they were also tried before 3~4 times ... wash them up ... cut partly .. put lot of butter + chilli (green fresh or red powder) + salt to taste ... then wrap it in aluminum foil .. put it inside the coal .. this time i applied butter also from outside the potato resulting into more softer skin ... and no need to remove the skin since that also taste different after roasting :-)

Cauliflower with butter + salt .. ummm .. it tastes like heaven ... ummy .. tasty .. too good ...

Chiken was the first time experiment so it needs lot of improvement ( hey .. hey it failed in the first attempt .. but better luck next time !)

I could not get time to photograph more ,.. since all members were keen in finishing hot food before I get chance to do something ! .. so i left the camera and jumped to enjoy the things ... next time for sure i will do it !

cheers :-)

My trek recipes - Instant Pithale (Zunka)

2012-01-19T22:08:00.000+05:30

Next goes with Instant Pithale (Zunka)

Required material (quantity to suit your requirements)

1 cup gram flour (basen)

cooking oil ~ 4 table spoons

2-3 Garlic cloves (peeled & chopped)

Hing (asafoetida)

Green chilies ~4 nos

mustard seeds ~small tea spoon

turmeric powder ~small tea spoon

salt (as per taste)

Preparation -

Heat about 4 tbsp oil in Kadhai, splutter mustard & cumin seeds, add turmeric + curry leaves + chopped green chillies + Garlic cloves, saute on medium heat to make crispy.

Now add gram flour roast on medium flame you will feel aromatic when gram flour begins to change its colour. by this time you can add some salt to taste.

Allow it to cool & pack in an air-tight plastic bag. this is ready to carry instant mix for your trek.

At trek -

Heat ~3 cups of water in kadhai (or what every you carry in trek), add our instant mix, keep stirring (this is must) till the mixture starts boiling. this should happen in 7~8 minutes, now allow the thing to cool. your trek-Pithale is ready ! If you want you can still cook it further to remove all water content can be called as sunka (as per Marathi type it must be hot with more chilies In it)

My trek recipes - Instant Khichdi

2012-01-18T22:11:00.000+05:30

Scond goes with Instant Khichdi

Required material (quantity to suit your requirements)

1 cup Rice + 1/2 a cup of Moong Dal
onions – 2 nos, chopped
green bell pepper 1 nos
red chilli powder 1 1/2 tsp
A dash of Hing
curry leaves ~7~8 turmeric powder ~small tea spoon
cumin seeds ~small tea spoon
cooking oil ~ 2 table spoons
Salt as per taste

Preparation :
Wash Rice & Dal & soak them for 15 minutes.
Heat about 2 tbsp oil in Kadhai, splutter mustard + cumin seeds, add Hing, curry leaves, bell paper, saute on medium heat to make crispy.
Add chopped onions, turmeric, saute till onions turn pink. Add Red chilli powder.
Add Rice, dal mixture. roast on medium flame you will feel aromatic. by this time you can add some salt to taste.

Allow it to cool & pack in an air-tight plastic bag. this is ready to carry instant mix for your trek.

At trek -
Heat water in kadhai (or what every you carry in trek), add our instant mix, let the mixture boil. this should happen in ~15 minutes, now allow the thing to cool. your Mug khichdi is ready ! And if you want more taste add potato / carrot / tomatoes / green peas, whatever is available in this while cooking !

cheers !!

My trek recipes - Instant Upma

2012-01-16T22:07:00.002+05:30

Remember those days when my mother used to help us out for trekking ... the main help was to support our food by giving us instant mix recipes, on public demand I am adding few of them in next few days ..

first it starts with Instant Upma

Required material (quantity to suit your requirements)

Semolina (Upma Rava) ~ 1 glass
cooking oil ~ 2 table spoons
Green chillies ~4 nos
curry leaves ~7~8
mustard seeds ~small tea spoon
cumin seeds ~small tea spoon
white urad dal ~1/8 of a glass
turmeric powder ~small tea spoon
salt (as per taste)
chopped onion ~ 1 medium

Preparation -
Heat about 2 tbsp oil in Kadhai, splutter mustard & cumin seeds, add urad dal, wait till it changes colour (slightly), add turmeric + curry leaves + chopped green chillies + chopped onion, saute on medium heat to make crispy.
Now add semolina & roast on medium flame you will feel aromatic when semolina begins to change its colour. by this time you can add some salt to taste.

Allow it to cool & pack in an air-tight plastic bag. this is ready to carry instant mix for your trek.

At trek -
Heat water in kadhai (or what every you carry in trek), add our instant mix, keep stirring (this is must) till the mixture starts boiling. this should happen in 7~8 minutes, now allow the thing to cool. your trek-upma is read

cheers !!!

next recipe -> Instant Mug (mung, moong) Khichdi

Buying Hero honda Un-Pleasure

2011-12-23T21:57:00.002+05:30

Bought Honda Pleasure this Deewali ...

I think "one picture is worth a thousand words"

here is the Honda Safety Lounge .. the customers are standing !!! and the mechanics are sitting !!!!!

Further to this when we went to take the vehicle delivery (after having full payment one month in advance) .. they asked for all the documents .. so I had to go to my house again just mere 5 kilometers one way (this is what the showroom person says !!! it is just 5 kms you can reach home in 5 minutes !!) .. So I met the manager and explained him that if I have called up showroom 4 times for confirmation of delivery of vehicle no one has told me about this address proof / ID papers and now happily your showroom representative is saying to bring it from home in 5 minutes, I also explained to take this as feedback for improvement ! but seems that they are selling very high and do not need customers ... don;t care ....

anyway since I had no choice by then after paying full amount !! I expressed by feelings to the manager of Pratibha Motors Wakad and came back.

ya .. one more thing I forgot ... when I was angry to be informed about the documents and asked showroom person ( i mean madam) .. she said sir "we are giving you delivery within one month !" I replied means it is free of cost or what ? I have paid full amount to you and you are not doing any favor on me giving it in a month !!

after delivery of vehicle ... it was not starting !! i.e. battery was not charged hence the showroom person started it by kicking outside the showroom (so nice!)

and when back home I drove it .. rattling noise was coming and since I am from R&D could immediately find that the main stand stopper rubber is missing (from the factory itself !) DURING THE FIRST SERVICING AFTER INFORMING THEY FITTED THE STAND RUBBER !

anyway .. just wanted to share the un-plesurable experience of hero honda pleasure. and may be someone from Hero honda reads this experience can reply me :-)

Just two images for front and rear tyres of hero honda pleasure, showing rear tyre wears more compared to front, even on my new vehicle it can be seen just after 1000 kms, one of my friends vehicle has complete ~10,000 kms where this can be seen prominently
.

cheers !!!!!

Devache darshan kase ghyave

2011-11-27T11:19:00.000+05:30

Devachya darshana purvi kay karave

Devateche darshan kase ghayave

Pradakshina kashya ghalavyat

Pradakshine nantar kay karave

Kuldevtechya nama japache mahatva

This useful information I found in Hindalga Ganapati Temple, at Belgau, Karnataka.

I hope this helps you knowing more about how to, what to, why to regarding Dev Darshan.

The Titan(ic)

2011-09-20T23:02:00.000+05:30

One fine morning .. my wife asked me ..
did u see the Titan ad ? ....
means .. I wish to hv a nice Titan selection !!!
So obviously as any poor hubby wl do ... I went to the Titan(ic) showroom ...
Obviously the thing which I like she would not ! (believe me the more you love .. the more this wuld happen)

So I selected a nice gold plated one ... see this one ...

Everything done .. billing .. payment .. & we were back home ...

& then after some time .. i heard murmuring how the other watch was more beautiful & looking sooo nice ... & rich design .. & bla bla ....

So the other day morning .. understanding the .. implied meaning I phoned the Titan showroom .. whether they will allow me to change the one which I bought yesterday !!! & they said it is OK :-)

I called my wife saying that we can go to titan showroom again to change the watch ! & the reply was ! no no this is your selection and I have liked it, but still we can have a look at one more time :-) hummm .. very smart :-)

We went to Titan(ic) showroom .. and the new selection was ..

It was bound to happen that I liked it too ! ha ! ha !! (I know u also experience the same way, when the selection is made by wife)
But obviously by some sort of rule the showroom lady said that exchange for this watch is not possible, since we might have used the watch ? .. however looking at my face she realized that I wuld not get entry back to my home & so she kindly agreed to help me out by allowing this exchange .. hushhh...

Happy ending of my Titan(ic) story ...

Needless to say what is lessons learnt out of this !

Happy shopping (with wife only)

Kaas plateau visit 17 Sept 2011 - the mist

2011-09-18T11:44:00.009+05:30

Do Carry a magnifying glass with you so that you can enjoy the beauty of micro flowers (remember these are wild flowers, small in size, some are too small to see the details by naked eyes)
Do not pluck the flowers, or even touch it, looking at number of persons visiting, even one person is plucking one flower !!! then !!! ....
Plan only Kaas trip & not any other places so that you spend sufficient time to go to the details, and not just having glimpse and come back. The more you see, the more you will understand and enjoy.
===========================================================
Yesterday (17 sept 2011) I could enjoy the misty colours of nature at Kaas plateau (satara) ... although it was raining & heavy mist there (and mind well when we were at Satara it was clear .. no rais & sun light too !) .. however i was pretty happy to see lot of flowers ... and looking at it it seems that next 15 days it will be colour change to blue-white .. since the blue white ball flowers are just started ...

you can park your car ~1 kilometer away from the plateau & then a ST bus starts from there (only 5 rupee per person) and the frequency is pretty good .. so part your car ( i saw many people fighting with forest people to get there vehicle to the plateau ! but it is not required at all .. be cool park your car, i am sure you will realise that it is the best way for you to enjoy the flowers) ... ST bus will drop you the exact point and there you can spend time to look into the best of nature .. the vally of flowers of maharashtra ... the Kaas plateau ...

take care not to drop in plastic there .. no damage to the flowers .. do not touch them at all ... you know this will ensure that thousands of other nature lovers can enjoy flowers if you keep them intact ... and this year really i could see that due to lot of efforts put in by government and a social nature lover organization "Ranwata" .. the area is pretty clean :-) thanks

Some Fandu images can be found at
http://www.naturelyrics.com/pages/articles/kaas_plateau_of_flowers.html
You may also like to buy a book "Kaas Plateau of Flowers" by "Sandip Shrotri"
http://www.sahyadribooks.org/books/Kaas.asp?bid=638

and if you have time .. get on to my old post on this
http://mdpathak.blogspot.com/2009/10/kas-plateau-visit-oct-2009.html

Eco-friendly Ganesh immersion

2011-09-07T06:53:00.000+05:30

Over the years now people are becoming more environment cautious while respecting their traditions and so are the Mahila Bachat Gat. This year I could see their contribution to this eco-drive via Sanskar Pratisthan - Maharashtra.
Sanskar Sanskruti Sadbhavana Mahila Bachat Gat helped for eco-friendly immersion for Ganesh Idols at Pavana river Chinchwad gaon.

Every year I am so sad to see hundreds of Ganesh idols lying in river water and I have to really step upon to do immersion of my Ganesh, however this year I was really happy to use the facility for Ganesh immersion to get satisfaction of not stepping onto previously immersed idols as well as helping to avoid river pollution.
The Maharashtra pollution control board is also taking efforts to educate people to use eco-friendly Ganesh idols (news reference - DNA 5th Sept 11)

So my request also to all either to go for complete eco-friendly idols with use of natural colours, so that they dissolve in water, but if you are not able to get such idol & bought POP (plaster of paris) idols then use such facility to avoid river water pollution, since POP do not dissolve for months & the chemical colours used to paint idol will cause water pollution.

Happy Ganesh festival to all.

what is special food in this indian city

2011-09-04T18:00:00.001+05:30

Whenever I travel to any city, the first question strikes is what is special food there to taste

So started listing what I know ... all may like to add more & more information :-)

Agara	आग्राचा पेठा	Petha

Baroda	बडोद्याची भजी	Bhajj (pakora)

Dharwad	धारवाडचे पेढे	Pedha

Gholvad (Thane)	घोलवड चे चिक्कू	Chikku

Jalgoan		Shevanchi Bhaji, wange che bharit (Brinjal), Thecha( Garlic+Green chilies), spicy mutton

Karjat (Mumbai)	कर्जतचा वडापाव	Batata Vada pav

Kolhapur	कोल्हापूरची मिसळ आणि मटणाचा रस्सा	Misal, Matnacha rassa (mutton curry)

Lucknow		Tunday Kababi

Narsobachi Wadi (Sangli)		Kavath(Limonia) Barfi, Basundi & Kandi Pedha

Nagpur	नागपूरची संत्री	Oranges

Pune	चितळेची बाकरवडी	Chitale's Bakarwadi

Satara	कंदी पेढा	Kandi Pedha

Sangli	सांगलीचे भडंग	Bhadang

Shegaon		Kachori

Solapur		Shengachi poli (Groundnut bread), groundnut chutney (crushed groundnuts +red chili powder+salt), Khara Mutton

Surat		Ghari

Tasgaon (Sangli)	तासगावंची द्राक्षे	Grapes

Links are added, where possible to exactly describe the food / fruit as reference.

So do not forget to buy these famous sweets / fruits / or at least taste it when you visit any one of these places,

and do inform me to add more & more info to complete this master list !!

cheers !!

1 rupee car wash

2011-08-28T20:40:00.000+05:30

Its Sunday ... and my wife was telling the kamvali baai (housemaid) to wash the car ... as usual Baai took big shampoo bottle and used it for car washing ... and i was wondering why she is not using the one rupee pouch which I normally keep for the car window washer bottle filling .. so asked my wife not to waste the costly shampoo in bottle but to use one rupee pouch, she obviously (!) replied that it doesn't make any difference cost wise to use either of the shampoo !!

so naturally as R&D man I started my research!! on which is costly .. one rupee pouch or the big bottled shampoo ?

what do you think ?

one rupee shampoo
1 Rs for ~5 ml means ~200 Rs/liter (few options are 6ml for a rupee)

bottled shampoo costs
100-140 Rs for 200 ml means 500-700 Rs/Liter

Some Herbal shampoo's do cost as low as
120 Rs for 500 ml means ~240 Rs/Liter

still the simplest calculation shows that for things like car washing or car washer bottle filling, the famous one rupee pouch is the cheaper option than using the bottled one, I guess this is one of the marketing strategies the shampoo companies adopt to go to the bottom line selling ... may be that is the reason knowing this economy also we will keep on using the bottled costly option only.

OK don't think too much & through away your shampoo bottles ...

its Sunday ... man go ahead ... & wash ur car ...

Pay money & get probelms with your Mahindra Logan

2011-08-18T22:06:00.000+05:30

Got my Mahindra-Renault Logan 1.4 GLX paid servicing done to create more problems !!

Interior wash done by payment of ~2000 bucks & the result is that they washed off things ! to clean !! it was told to me that some chemicals will be used to clean the interiors, & the result is seen in photograph below !

the interior trim came off due to this washing, also the gear shifter bellow came out, the gear shifter box was not cleaned at all !!! but I was so tired of waiting for the car (as usual !! evening u will get delivary at 6~7 pm) so I took it off without any complain !!!

the front tyres are worn out at 25000 kilometers .. I am pretty sure that they have not checked the wheel alignment while doing service checks !! but I thought that sine I have done servicing things will be OK, & one fine morning my friend showed me that the front tyres are gone for six !!!

so be careful to spend your money to get the interior cleaned from these Mahindra service stations !! don;t waste it, instead call local private persons to do this for you.

also make sure (ask 10 times) that they have done basic checks for your car !!

Any way I am pretty sure not to go for next vehicle without confirming the service history .. that way when I was having my Maruti Omni .. for years .. not a single time they gave me a chance to compliant :-)

A fishful friendship day

2011-08-07T20:05:00.002+05:30

Last week we were discussing places to do time pass on Sundays& I told me friend Rajendra, that we used to go for fishing years back ....

He said we can also try this next Sunday on friendship day .. & so we did ...

Since we went to Pavana river after years .... the scene is really changed !! unfortunately things which were clean b4 years are not clean now :-( (the place where we went is behind Birla hospital on the way to Kejudevi mandir (temple) ... so since it was not clean we decided to go back to the MIDC side area .. since it is far more inside .. normally no one goes & so obviously it was clean ....

there was ample water due to rainy season & after an hour of effort we were able to get a catch :-)

result was one fish alive & one dead ... so the alive one went to Rajendra's house pond & the dead one went to our pussy cat "Timmy" :-)

Timmy enjoying the fruits of our fishful day !

so we enjoyed a fishful friendship day !! which was dishful for Timmy :-)

Happy friendship day :-)

cheers !!

Akkalkot

2011-08-05T20:51:00.000+05:30

Now when I talk about Pandharpur it is quite obvious that I also need to give information on the most famous ones which are nearby like Gangapur, Akkalkot & Tuljapur.

We have already talked about Gangapur, so lets proceed to Akkalkot, where Shri Swami Samartha stayed for ~22 years.

Akkalkot [Sri Swami Samartha] - Bhiu nakos mi tuzya pathishi aahe

Vatavruksha Swami Mandir (Temple) timings

5.00 am Kakad Aarti
7.00 am to 11.00 am Abhishek puja
8.00 am to 10.00 am Laghu Rudra
12.00 noon Aarti & Maha-Naivedya
8.00 pm to 8.45 pm Shej-Aarti

Every Thursday 8.00 pm to 10.00 pm Aarti & Palkhi

Vatavruksha Swami Mandir Mahaprasad timings

12.00 noon (daily)
8.00 pm (daily)

Main events (Yatra)

1) Shri Swami Samartha Pragat din - Chaitra Shuddha Dwitiya
2) Shri Swami Samartha Punyatithi - Chitra Vaidya Trayodashi
3) Guru Pornima - Ashad Shuddha Pornima
4) Shri Datta Jayanti - MargaShirsha Shuddha Pornima
5) Gangapur yatra - Magha Vadya Pratipada

Tours copilation Aug 2011

2011-08-03T19:47:00.001+05:30

If you are not able to view this TABLE correctly then visit
http://mdpathak.webs.com/aug-2011.html

Its always been interesting to me to compile such information before I go for any tour, I may go with my favorite tour operator as usual, but would like to know more & more options to choose from, you know you can not go to him & sit for hours to decide where to go .... so this type of chart I prefer to prepare before deciding the location ... which gives me idea of where to go & what is my budget ... you have to be careful since many tour operator costs are inclusive of --- or exclusive of --- which one has to study carefully since the offers are always made attractive ... so check this chart out .. i will be updating daily as I come across advertisements in news papers ....
cheers !!

WEGA - Aug 2011
Tour operator	Days	Note	Price	Locations	Travel

Kesari	4	**	44,990	Taman, Negara - 24 Sept 11	Ex-Mumbai (Air travel)

Aradhana tours	5		12,875	Ran of Kachha
					>
Strawberi holidays	6	*	24,990	Essential Kerala

Aradhana tours	7		11,975	Kokan-backwaters
Aradhana tours	7		21,775	Bhutan special
Kesari	7	**	22,975	Bandhavgad, Kanha - 13 Nov 11	Not included
Strawberi holidays	7	*	25,990	Essential Rajasthan
Aradhana tours	7		35,275	Andaman (havlok stay)	Ex-Mumbai (Air travel)
Aradhana tours	7		78,000	Maurities
Strawberi holidays	7	*	1,89,990	South America	Ex-Mumbai

Kesari	8	**	25,975	Nagarhole, Bandipur, Ranganthitte - 01 Nov 11	Not included

Aradhana tours	9		16,475	Hydrabad, Puri, Konark
Aradhana tours	9		20,875	Saurashtra
Aradhana tours	9		21,775	Sikkim, Darjiling
Aradhana tours	9		28,975	Kerala-backwaters
Guardian holidays	9		1,40,000	South Africa
Guardian holidays	9		1,60.000	Swiss cycle tour

Kesari	10	**	1,62,990	Keniya, Tanzania - 21 Oct 11	Ex-Mumbai

Aradhana tours	11		31,675	Three sisters (Aasam, Arunachal, Meghalay, Tawang, Bomdil)
Guardian holidays	11		74,990	Singapore, Bangkok, Pattaya, Malysia
Aradhana tours	11		84,000	Singapore, Bangkok, Pattaya, Malysia

Aradhana tours	15		30,775	Rajesthan,Mewad, Marwad
Aradhana tours	15		34,375	Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjiling
					>
Aradhana tours	16		29,875	Madhyapradesh complete
Aradhana tours	16		45,175	Seven sisters (including 3 air travels)
Aradhana tours	16		1,79,000	China, Hongkong, Makau(with Yangatse river cruize)	>
Aradhana tours	16		2,14,000	Vietnam, Kambodia	>


* Strawberi holidays (offer ends 31/8/11)	Price includes accomodation, meals, sightseeing, & transfer as per itinerary, international holidays inclusive of airfare Ex-Mumbai, Indian holidays exclusive of airfare (sales@strawberi.in) 1800 22 9080
Aradhana tours	phone - 25531222 / 1444 / 30221444, if you book before 7th Aug, you get special discount ( INR calculated at 1US$=47Rs.)
Guardian holidays	Phone - 30568888/87
** Kesari	Jungle tours special, International tours are Ex-Mumbai, INR calculated at 1US$=47Rs. Indian tours do not include Rail/Airfare, prices are per person & Twin share basis. Phone - 1800 22 1100
For details of tour please contact tour operator, there can be typo error here, this information is compiled from local news papers only in my own interest, website does not take any responsibility
http://mdpathak.blogspot.com/
http://wega-pune.blogspot.com/
WEGA - Aug 2011

Tuljapur

2011-08-01T21:54:00.001+05:30

Now when Italk about Pandharpur it is quite obvious that I also need to give information on the most famous ones which are nearby like Gangapur, Akkalkot & Tuljapur.

We have already talked about Gangapur& Akkalkoat, now we will talk about Tuljapur situated in the Vally of Balaghat hills.

Places to visit at Tuljapur

1) Ghatshil (buliding with 8 corners)
2) Dhakte Tuljapur (situated to theeast of main Tuljapur, there is Bhavani idol which is found to a muslim farmer while ploughing)
3) Matangi mandir (temple) - there is Kund (a square well) which changes its water colour as per the season. it is said that a monstor Matangasur was killed by Mata Bhavani at this place.
4) Kal-bhairav
5) Kal-bhairav bhendoli
6) Tol-bhairav mandir (temple)
7) Mudgaleshwar (temple if Shiva)
8) Nagzhar - Nagatirtha, to take holy bath
9) Ramvardayini temple - Bhavani mata idol with 8 arms (astaBhuja)
10) Indirayani temple - PapaNasha tirtha

Tulja Bhavani Mandir (Temple)

Main temple have four doors, out of which South door is made out of brass & the remaining three out of Silver. You have to climb up many steps to the main temple. Mata Tulja Bhavani was he family godess of Chatrapati-Shivaji Maharaj & it is said that Mata Bhavani gave the winning sward to Shivaji maharaj

Tulja Bhavani Mandir (Temple) timings

6.00 am Pratham Puja
9.00 am Abhishek (panchamrut snan)
12.00 noon Dhhop-Aarti & Maha-Naivedya
6.00 pm Panchamrut Snan
night Prakshal

Tirtha (holy place)

1) Gai-mukh tirtha(gai=cow,mukh=face) this is located near to the main temple
2) Kallol tirtha - it is also called as VAristha tirtha, it is said that the holy water of this tirtha willl make you free from all the difficulties (sorrow & illness)
3) Sudhakund tirtha a.k.a. Amrut Kund
4) Vishnu tirtha a.k.a. Makavati vihir (Makavati well)
5) Papnash tirtha

Main events (Yatra)

1) Chaitra Pornima
2) Vijayadashmi (9 days program during Dhashara festival)
3) Ashwini Pornima (there is tradition of dancing sticks from ~500 years)

Important days for Mata TuljaBhavani are Tuesday, Friday & Pornima

Excellent information is available on http://www.tuljabhavani.in/ , it is really a good website to know history of Mata TuljaBhavani, MP3 songs, selected beautiful photographs, do visit that website.

Shivtharghal - Samarth Ramdas Swami

2011-07-21T21:08:00.004+05:30

I was browsing through some trekking photographs & found these ones from my 2008 album, in a trek done with Bajaj trekking club, so thought of putting them on. I have posted only the information which is not available on any other blog or website, rest you can ask Google :-)

Shivtharghal was found in year 1930 by Shri Shankar Shrikrushna Deo of Dhule

He found this based on the following lines which are described by Swami Samarth Ramdas, each line describes the location, which you can feel once you reach this place, you may not experience the dense forest kind of situation which Swamiji has felt that time, however it is really worth to see the water roar while sitting in the caves where Swamiji wrote "Dasbodh"

गिरीचे मस्तकी गंगा | तेथुनि चालली बळे |
धबाबा लोटती धारा | धबाबा तोय आदळे || १||
गर्जता मेघ तो सिंधू | ध्वनी कल्होळ उठिला |
कड्याशी आदळे धारा | वाट आवर्त होतसे ||२||
तुषार उठती रेणू | दुसरे रज मातले |
वाट मिश्रीत ते रेणू | सीत मिश्रीत धुकटे ||३||
दराच तुटला मोठा | झाड खंडे परोपरी |
निबीड दाटती छाया | त्या मधे वोघ वाहती ||४||
गर्जती श्वापदे पक्षी | नाना स्वरे भयंकरे |
गडद होतसे रात्री | ध्वनी कल्लोळ उठती ||५||
कर्दमु निवडेना तो | मानसी साकडे पडे |
विशाळ लोटती धारा | ती खाले रम्य विवरे ||६||
विश्रांती वाटते येथे | जावया पुण्य पाहिजे |
कथा निरुपणे चर्चा | सार्थके काळ जातसे ||७||

समर्थ रामदास

Other details you may please read at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivthar_Ghal

Distance from Pune is around 90 kms, 200 kms from Mumbai & ~40 kms from Mahad

you can also stay at the Math near to Shivthar ghal

Kataldhara re-visited July 2011

2011-07-17T23:09:00.007+05:30

Have you ever fall in love with a waterfall ?

At least once you shall visit this beautiful waterfall .... it's difficult & hence intact from the nature sopilers ...

I started trekking in ~1988 with my first trek to Dhak Cha Bhairi .. & since then did many treks .... but today's experience of being into the huge waterfall with Zero visibility was awesome.. I will say it was the best ever .. best than the view of Kalavantin durg .. of course nothing is beyond the best Kokan Kada view :-) but ...
This time the waterfall was the biggest I saw it over last 5 years ... it was raining heavily through out the trek & the waterfall was at its best size !! I was not so sure of entering into the caves .. however when you are with (Mahesh Mahajan & Mandar Tharval (FONA founders) you should be sure of safety ... literally the waterfall was so huge that me & my wife were just stopped before the caves ... we were not able to see anything but just water all around ... visibility was at its best !!! but then finally with help of FONA team (Yuvraj, Nilesh, Abhay, Vikas, Rounak, Suyog , Miss Vidya) ... we finally reached the destination caves ... where the roar of water just threatens you giving the straight warning ! not to play with it ...

Last year there was small landslide at this place & so the way to the waterfall is bit easy (compared to the previous years) .. the landslide has helped to create reach path ... still at 1~2 places you need to use rope trick !

Kataldhara waterfall (Ullhas Vally - Lonavala)

The FONA team (62 members !)

& its me !

Kataldhara waterfall (Ullhas Vally - Lonavala)

Obviously the photograph quality is not so good ...since it is a 2 MP mobile capture ... but u know it at least gives an idea ...

Instructions Again :-)
1) This time we took Mosquito repellent cream with us, which obviously washed away many times by the heavy rains :-) but proved to be extremely useful
2) Do not use the mobile earphones to listen songs etc. while trekking .. it is extremely dangerous, you may not listen to stone falling call or any important instruction / call be the leader.
3) You must have proper trekking gears !! each trek we repeat this instruction and still people come with wearing slippers !! or sandles !! mind it ? this is serious trek .. you have to remember that you are playing with your own life. Do buy proper trekking shoes (my favorite model is "Trekking" shoes from Action)
4) Do wear full attire, no half pants/shirts ! this avoid bites from insects as well as protects you from creating any body scratches.
5) & I think not to provide any stupid instructions like do not take any alcohol ! since I haven't seen a trekker doing that !! (till now)
6) we used mini-bus to go to the nearest point so that walking will be less !! unfortunately the transporter sent 50 seater BUS (!) for return journey & it got stuck for an hour !!!! so do not repeat this mistake, if u want to avoid some walking, use smaller jeeps or SUV's !

Kataldhara re-visited Aug 2010

Chalo Kataldhara (near Lonavala)

Mother's Recipe - Metkut

2011-07-12T19:58:00.000+05:30

Yesterday fresh preparations were going on to prepare Metkut, for my friends daughter who is having fever ... so thought of jotting down for all of you who miss mother's recipe.

It is called as Metkut, a tasty & healthy yellow powder with aroma that one will never ever forget when it goes with soft rice + Ghee + some salt (for taste).

My childhood memories are there with this aroma and taste .. specially that was given to us when we were sick with temperature ...

so here is my mother's recipe in her own handwriting :-) over the years my wife will be using this & u may use it too :-) ......

Snap from the handbook :-)

This is how it looks ... yellowish powder .. take care to keep it in air tight container since it should not loose its aroma ..

yesterday fresh preparations were going on to prepare Metkut, for my friends daughter who is having fever ... so thought of jotting down for all of you who miss mother's recipe.

so here is my mother's recipe in her own handwriting :-) over the years my wife will be using this & u may use it too :-) ......

It is called as Metkut, a tasty & healthy powder with aroma that one will never ever forget when it goes with soft rice + Ghee + some salt (for taste). My childhood memories are there with this aroma and taste .. specially that was given to us when we were sick with temperature ...

Metkut ingredients

Roast the following things (without using any oil) -->
2 bowl= gram (harbara dal)
1 bowl = black gram (udid dal)
quarter bowl = rice (tandul)
quarter bowl = wheat (gahu)
quarter bowl = green gram (mug dal)
quarter bowl = corriander seeds (Dhane)
quarter bowl = cummin seeds (jire)
1 spoon = fenugreet seeds (methya)

Do not roast the following things -->
4 nos = cardamoms (veldode)
4 small sticks = cinnamon (dalchini)
quarter piece = nutmeg (jaiphal)
1 spoon = asafoetida (hing)
8 nos = dry chilli
dry ginger
1 spoon = termeric powder
1/2 spoon = salt

bowl = catori (hindi) or vati (marathi)

roast items as mentioned above, then grind them all to fine powder.
Mix all ingredients with each other thoroughly and metkut is ready.

Use of metkut

1) put metkut powder onto soft rice alongwith ghee (clarified butter) + salt (for taste), this is specially used at my home when someone is sick with temperature and you are feeling tasteless. be sure that this will help you a lot ... its mother's recipe .. prove through years ...
2) you can mix metkut powder with chilli powder and curd with some salt. The mixture goes well with chapati or wheat bread
3) metkut powder goes well with Upma
4) it goes well onto uttapa

Over years this is useful when someone is not feeling well and he feels any food tasteless, metkut goes very well, since it gives taste as well as retains his health.

Gangapur

2011-07-09T20:15:00.001+05:30

Now when I talk about Pandharpur it is quite obvious that I also need to give information on the most famous ones which are nearby like Gangapur, Akkalkot & Tuljapur.

We can start from Gangapur where Shri Narsimha Sarswati stayed for about 24 years.

Gangapur

Situated at the confluence of river "Bhima" & "Amarja" this is auspicious place of lord Dattatraya, it is beleived that any Ghost affected person gets releif from theghost because of Lord Dattatraya powers in this holy place.

What to see at Gangapur

1) Audumbar
2) River Bhima & River Amarja Sangam (confluence)
3) Bhasmacha Dongar (Ash hill)
4) Chidanand Dharmashala (Charitable resthouse)
5) Chidanand Swami Math (monastery)
6) Datta Mandir (Temple)
6) Gulavni Maharaj Math (monastery)
7) Kalleshwar
8) Nana Maharaj Taraneshwar Math (monastery)
9) Maruti Mandir (Temple)
10) Sangam Mandir(Temple)
11) Sangameshwar Mandir (Temple)
12) Vishanti Katta (resting square)

Main Nirgun Paduka Mandir (Temple)

Located in the mid of Gangapur, have two Maha-dwar (main-doors) at East & West. The auspicious Paduka's are kept in main room having small darshan window. about 1.5 kilometers from this temple at the confluence of Bhima & Amarja there is a hill called as Bhasmacha dongar (ash-hill), where you can collect holy ash. It is said that this ash is created from holy Homam. Near to this hill there is Sangameshwar temple situated in the area called as Tapo-bhumi (penance-land)

Main Nirgun-Paduka Mandir (Temple) timings

3.00 am Kakad Aarti
6.15 am Karpur Aarti
6.45 am Mangal Aarti
7.00 am to 12.00 Noon Abhishek, Rudra-Abhishek, Padya puja
12.00 noon to 1.00 pm Maha-Aarti & Maha-Naivedya
7.30 pm Dhhop-Aarti, Palkhi, Vida, Shej-Aarti
9.15 pm Temple close

Tirtha (holy place)

1) Bhagirathi tirtha
2) Chakra tirtha
3) Koti tirtha
4) Manmath tirtha
5) Narasimha tirtha
6) PapNashi tirtha
7) RudraPad tirtha
8) Shaskul tirtha

Main events (Yatra)

1) Magh Vadya Pratipada to Chaturthi (February)
2) Datta Jayanti in December

Since we are reading information on one of the main places of Lord Dattatraya in Maharashatra, I wish to enlist other famous places too here.

Famous places of Lord Dattatraya in Maharashtra

1) Audumbar
2) Devgad
3) Gangapur
4) Karanje
5) Mahur
6) Narsoba-Wadi (Sangli) - refer to my previous blog post
7) Panchaleshwar

New Pune-Lonavala local train timetable 100 kph speed change

2011-07-06T22:50:00.003+05:30

Last update 01/08/2011, finally I got this from one of my friend :-)

Latest update
Newspaper --> Maharashtra times (Pune) date 23/07/2011, page 5

Fast local will become slow !

New Pune-lonavala local time table will be declared in a weeks time by railway authorities

Time taken to travel from Pune to Lonavala -->
Old time at 80 kmph = 1 hour 27 min
New time at 100 kmph = 1 hour 12 min
Corrected time at xx kmph = 1 hour 20 min (this time table will be declared shortly !)
---------------------------------------------------------

The good news is that Pune-Lonavala local train speed is increased from 80kmph to 100 kmph, so we will save 12 minutes of travel time ...
but ... the bad news is that time modified table is not easily available to all ...
and since I am planning to go for Kataldhara trek next week I got one for me :-) and obvious that I will share with you all ... so here is the modified time table due to increased local speeds.

New Time table as I have jotted down from some paper displayed at the railway station !!

Shivajinagar time (pune-lonavala local)
4.56 am, 5.51 am, 6.36 am, 6.55 am, 8.16 am, 9.06 am
Akurdi time (lonavala-pune local)
4.37 pm, 4.54 pm, 6.12 pm, 7.07 pm, 7.42 pm, 8.27 pm, 9.27 pm, 10.27 pm
you can subtract ~40 minutes from this time to get Lonavala time

btw some time tables are available at following websites (but not sure about the update as per latest speeds) SON ANYONE IS AWARE OF NEW TIME TABLE PLEASE LET ME KNOW

http://www.indiafun.net/pune-to-lonavala-local-train-time-table-routes-schedule

http://www.mumbailocal.net/pune-to-lonavala-local-train-time-table-and-local-train-time-table-routes

News in Pune mirror -->
Pune-Lonavla local trains speed up by 12 minutes
News in DailyBhaskar -->
Two additional Pune-Lonavla trains to ply from today

Pandharpur - My hometown

2011-07-02T17:23:00.004+05:30

Shri Kshetra Pansharpur is also well Known as Dakshin Kashi. You must have noticed that about a million people walk to this place during this week. Obviously my colleges ask me about this place, hence decided to jot down information on Pandharpur.
Every year about a million people walk a distance of 250 kilometers from Alandi to Pandharpur

Pandharpur
Situated at the bank of river "Bhima" also called as "Chandrabhaga" meaning "Moonlike" since it takes shape of half moon while passing through Pandharpur

What to see at Pandharpur
1) The main Vitthal-Rukmini temple
2) Kaikadi Maharaj Math (monastery), this is the best to see & will take arount 3 hours to move through the maze like structure which shows different stories, statues etc. (must see)
3) Vishnupad
4) Gopalpur
5) Padmavati
6) Chandrabhaga mandir, Lakhubai mandir, Shri Datta mandir
7) Shri Gajanan Maharaj temple - this is replica of the main Gajanan maharj temple & they have very good overnight stay facility.
8) 11 Ghat on river Chandrabhaga

Main Vitthal-Rukmini Temple
Facing to East with four entry doors.
Main door a.k.a. Mahadwar or Namdev Darvaja.The first step is called as Namdev Payari, since Shri Santa Namdev took rest (profound meditation-tomb) there @ year 1350. It is tradition to give respect to the first step while going to the main temple.
Second door (to the left of main door) = there is temple of 33 crore gods at this door
Third door a.k.a. Tarti door, if you enter through this door you will goto Laxmi mandir & Vankoba mandir
Fourth (west) door a.k.a. Paschim dwar (dwar=door)

Main Vitthal-Rukmini Temple timings
4.00 am Open for darshan
4.30 am Kakad Aarti
6.00 am to 7.00 am Darshan
7.00 am to 8.30 am Bhakta puja
8.30 am to 11.00 am Darshan
11.00 am Maha Nevaidya
11.15 am to 4.30 pm Darshan
4.30 pm to 5.00 pm Poshak (Dress change)
5.00 pm to 6.45 pm Darshan
6.45 pm to 7.15 pm Dhup Aarti
7.15 pm to 10.00 pm Darshan
10.00 pm to 10.45 pm Padya Puja

River Chandrabhaga (Bhima) Ghats
When you want to get down to the river for rituals, there is provision of steps which is called as Ghat. There are 11 such places on the river Chandrabhaga.
1) Divte ghat
2) Krushnaji ghat
3) Dagari ghat
4) Udhhav ghat
5) Shri Datta ghat
6) Kumbhar ghat
7) Mahadwar ghat
8) Kasar ghat
9) Chandrabhaga ghat
10) Vipradal ghat
11) Smashan ghat

Temples (Mandir) in Pandharpur
1) Shri Vitthal Rukmini mandir (Main temple)
2) Bhakta Pundalik mandir
3) Shri Gajanan Maharaj mandir
4) Ambabai mandir
5) Vyas mandir
6) Traymbakeshwar mandir
7) Panchmukhi Maruti mandir
8) Kal Bhairav mandir
9) Mallikarjun mandir
10) Holkar Ram mandir
11) Dwarkadhish mandir
12) Gopalkrushna mandir
13) Kala Maruti mandir
14) Namdev mandir
15) Sridhar Swami Samadhi mandir
16) Shri Dyaneshwar & Shrinath mandir

Tirtha Sthan (holy water place)
1) Lohadand tirtha
2) Padma tirtha
3) Kundal tirtha
4) Sangamtirtha
5) Venu tirtha
6) Gunja tirtha
7) Vruddha Kaleshwar tirtha
8) Panchganga tirtha
9) Vishnupad tirtha
10) Gopalpur tirtha

Main events (Yatra)
1) Chaitra Ekadashi (Yatra)
2) Ashadhi Ekadashi (Yatra)
3) Kartiki Ekadashi (Yatra)
4) Maghi Ekadashi (Yatra)

Dharmashala (Charitable resthouse) at Pandharpur
1) Aagri Dharmashala
2) Gadge Maharaj Dharmashala
3) Lad Dharmashala
4) Maheshwari Dharmashala
5) Padmasali Dharmashala
6) Sarda Dharmashala

Math (monastery) at Pandharpur
1) Ausekar Maharaj Math
2) Banvaskar Math
3) Bankat Swami Maharaj Math
4) Belapurkar Math
5) Chaunde Maharaj Math
6) Chopdekar Maharaj Math
7) Chudamani Math
8) Dasganu Maharaj Math
9) Dhondopant Dada Math
10) Gadkar Math
11) Kukur Mundekar Maharaj Math
12) Khandarkar Maharaj Math
13) Lohiya Maharaj Math
14) Manmadkar Maharaj Math
15) Muktabai Math
16) Narayan Gunda Maharaj Math
17) Savtamali Math
18) Santa Tanpure Maharaj Math
19) Thakurbua Math
20) Vadgaonkar Math
21) Vaskar wada Math

So if you wish to do Puja or Abhishek of lord Vitthal, do not hesitate to contact me & be sure I will arrange for it through my friend Pujari's (mainly Utpat & Badve's) over there.

|| Jai Shri Vitthal ||

Mahindra Logan wipers - waiting period 8 months

2011-06-27T21:58:00.004+05:30

Mahindra Logan 1.4 GLX review
Car --> Mahindra Logan 1.4 GLX
Issue faced --> Wiper failure
Replacement cost --> 4500 Rs
Replacement time --> 8 months
Service Quality --> BAD

Complete wiper mechanism replacement needed on failure of only one link !

Failure closeup shows how bad the design is

Last year the rains were almost over I was heading to a evening party & caught by sudden attack of heavy rain in the mid of Banglore highway.. Wipers were doing its best on highest speed ....and .. suddenly they refused to work !!! got completely locked !!! I quickly took the car off the road .. after an hour of waiting in heavy rain ... returned back home on lowest possible speed ... and then thought of getting the wiper repaired from the service station .... and could get them repaired almost after 8 months of continuous follow-up !!! & that too when I told the service station to provide spare part order details to get the parts from M&M directly by writing off to Mr. Pavan Goenka to get the spare parts !!! I think beyond this someone can't think of pushing service station to its limits ?

Now first of all see the Call & SMS Log to Silver Jublee Motors for wipers issue !!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
date --> Monday 11/10/2010 2.17 pm
(PRO of SJM) --> 9881068193
SMS text --> "Hi, my logan wipers r locked, when shall i bring it 2 u?, rgds, pathak"

date --> Monday 14/02/2011 6.31 pm
Mr. Kabir --> 9552562593
SMS text --> "hi, my logan wiper work to be done as well as servicing, when can we plan ? next Monday ? rgds, pathak"

I was thinking of getting the wiper work done, so also delayed my Servicing.. was following up with Mr. Kabir, one fine day he told
me that wiper mechanism will be available in next month.. which after followup I could not get, so finally I called up the Public
Relation Office (PRO) of SJM and told her the complete story, she agreed to help, but gave up saying that I need to talk to the
works manager to push the spare part order, so I started follow-up with works manager ...

date --> 27/04/2011 11.44 am
from (PRO of SJM) --> 9881068193
SMS --> "Sir, i appologise for the delay. You can talk have with our WORK MANAGER no. 9822841907 mr patil"

After this I immediately talked to Mr. Patil & explained him that since months I am following up and the spare parts for the wiper mechanism are not available ! He promised me to track the case and revert back (which obviously he did not do, obviously since I was in need I followed up !!)

date --> Wednesday 28/04/2011 7.41 am
works manager(SJM) --> 9822841907 (Mr. Patil)
SMS --> "GM sir, my logan wiper repair is pending, plz inform me if part avlable this week, rgds, pathak"
reminder SMS to Works Manager--> Friday 29/04/2011 8.03 am

After this I kept on following up to know whether the parts are available, but no one was able to track when I will get them !!
At last as I was completely out of my fury, I told them to provide me the PO number and I will get the parts from M&M using my own reference contacts, so they promised me that part will be available in a week... as expected the history got repeated and this time I told them to provide PO details which I would send to Mr. Pavan Goenka !!!! to get the spare parts !! I don't think someone has to go to this extent to get spare parts ? but surprisingly this worked and the parts arrived in a day ? so happily I reached to the service station on 11/06/2011 for getting the wipers repaired.

date -> 11/06/2011 Arrived at the service station to get the wipers repaired
SMS to 9881068193 (since mobile was out of range or switched off) --> 9.58 am "Thank you, I have arrived here with my car"
call/SMS to 9822841907 --> 12.06 noon " can u help, its 2 hours & stil Iam not sure how much time it will take"

At last I went inside the service station to find location of my car ... called up a supervisor there .. where I found that they are
not able to repair the mechanism and need to replace the complete part (after 2 hours) , so I told them to replace the part worth 4500 Rs. (no choice or what ?) and got it repaired after one more hour.

Question is if you see the history of all by blog posts from time to time for my Mahindra Logan, you can easily see that over the
span of 3 years .. its mere failure of Mahindra & Mahindra to improve upon on the service front, and even the Logan car is good in
itself might not be successful in long term due to poor service support, the company can not come out of its image of selling rugged
vehicles to the farmers or commercial travel operators, they do not understand the Car class has to be catered in certain way, the
other class of Scorpio may be getting the repairs done at roadside garage, but car customer will not do it, like in this case I could have got the wiper welded at roadside service.

Now looking at the failure photographs bellow, one can easily seen that the samrt designer has improved the section modulas by reducing the cross section (!) and the part has failed exactly at the center where the bending momenet will be the higest, resulting into early failure (see my wiper failed in the second rainy season, means must not have done to the life cycle of the part) .. no wonder the spare part consumption will be so high that service stations are facing difficulty in getting the spare part ... obviously they will not agree the design fault, since they then have to pay 4500 bucks to me ! and if they have not fitted the improved part (here the assumption is that design is improved by M&M R&D) it will surely fail by the next monsoon !!

any way ..look at the log from day one of buying my Mahindra Renault Logan 1.4 GLX, hope someone from M&M will take look at all then log and come back to me for the actions they might take in coming decade (yes, this is the time they need to improve, in my opinion)

my Previous posts for Logan 1.4 GLX

After 20000 kms
After 10000 kms
After 3000 kms

Re service after second servicing
Re service FOC
issues after second servicing

minor-accident-with-my-logan

Logan glove box handle-broken

test drive with Logan 1.4 GLX

my first Sedan

Mahindra Logan 1.4 GLX review

Prati-Shirdi Sai Baba Temple - Shirgaon, Pune

2011-06-22T06:40:00.002+05:30

Official website - Prati-Shirdi Sai Baba Temple - Shirgaon, Pune

Prasad timings --> 12 noon to 3.30 pm at nominal charge of Rs.25 per person

We visited Prati Sai baba temple on this Sunday & it was pretty crowdy ... Huge private parking is available which can accommodate ~100 cars at a time .. & it was full !!!

Look at the beautiful entrance gate for the temple

Prasad is available from 12 noon & the Anna Chatralaya is pretty huge, see below to get an idea.

The other view of Anna Chatralaya

AS on now the photography inside the premises is not allowed, hence I could not capture them from inside, however some previous photographs are available on
1) their official website Prati-Shirdi Sai Baba Temple - Shirgaon, Pune
2) on SaiPrema's Blog
But both websites show old pictures, may be at least the official website should show the recent photographs !

Schedule of Daily Programs
Kakad Arti ------> 5:15 am
Maha Abhishek -> 7:00am
Noon Arti -------> 12:00 Noon
Dhup Arti -------> 6:15pm
Shej Arti -------> 10:00 pm

Temple remains closed from 10:30pm to 5:00 am
Prasad timings ----> 12 noon to 3.30 pm

Locate on WikiMapia